Chandigarh, October 19: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab president and Cabinet Minister Aman Arora on Monday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure the strictest punishment for anyone found responsible for the reported donation theft ('chanda chori') at the Shri Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.

Addressing a press conference in Chandigarh, Arora said: "Millions of Ram devotees contributed their hard-earned money towards the construction of the Shri Ram Mandir in Ayodhya with immense faith and devotion. If the money donated by devotees has been misappropriated, it is a betrayal of their faith. Prime Minister Narendra Modi must ensure that everyone found guilty faces the strictest punishment." He said he was raising the issue not as an AAP leader or party president, but as a Ram devotee who shares the anguish of lakhs of people across Punjab.

Claims (made by Arora): Citing 105 reported incidents of donation theft, Arora demanded a thorough probe into the role of senior officials and questioned why accountability should end with junior employees when serious questions had been raised about those overseeing the temple's management. Displaying bundles of letters at the press event, he claimed more than one lakh Ram devotees from Punjab had voluntarily written to the Prime Minister seeking justice, that the letters had come from approximately 22,000 polling booths across the state, and that they would be submitted to the Prime Minister as a collective appeal. He announced the slogan: "Ram Bhakton ki ek pukar, Chanda choron ko saza is baar." The figure of 105 incidents and the one-lakh-letters claim are Arora's and his party's; Awaaz Punjab has not independently verified the reported theft incidents.

Arora said the BJP, which he alleged rose to power by invoking the sentiments associated with the Ram Temple, must not shield anyone who betrayed devotees' faith. (Sources: Nation Press; Punjab Newsline; IANS; Illustrated Daily News)